He's just a friend
by iHeArTuRfAcE
Summary: Joley Parker is a student at Hogwarts attending her fourth year of magical schooling. As the Triwizard Tournament takes place the feelings she thought were simply those of friendship for her best friend change. 'He's just a friend' might not be true


Chapter 1

"Joley, are you up, dear?" Lydia Parker yelled from the foot of the stairs. Joley rolled her eyes as she stood in front of her full-length mirror, making sure she looked okay before going downstairs. Her brown hair fell just past her shoulders in loose curls that annoyed her to no end, although she knew that her friend Hermione would kill to have Joley's hair rather than her frizzy brown curls.

"Yes, Mum. I'll be down in a moment." Joley grabbed a fitted black tee from her closet and pulled it over her tank top before leaving her room. It was weird to live in a Muggle neighborhood, using electricity rather than the torches, fires and candles of Hogwarts, but her mother was fascinated with Muggles, so her family lived the Muggle lifestyle happily in Little Whinging.

As Joley entered the kitchen, having taken the stairs two at a time to avoid having her mother yell some more, she noticed Hedwig was perched on the back of a chair. Either Harry sent her a letter or Hermione was taking advantage of having the snowy owl sent to her.

"That owl is so pretty, and she doesn't leave until you have your letter." Her mother commented as she stood in front of the stove.

"Thanks, Hedwig. Go on back to Harry. I'll use my dad's owl." The snowy owl hooted softly and nipped at her fingers before taking off out the window. "Seeing as I have letter in my hand to remind me…Mum, has my letter from Hogwarts come yet?"

"Yes, both your and Aiden's letters arrived yesterday." As Joley sat down at the table, her mother placed a plate of bacon and eggs in front of her, along with a glass of orange juice.

"Okay, I'll have to ask the others when they plan on…" Her sentence slowed to a stop as she read the letter from Hermione and a smile broke out on her face.

_Dear Joley,_

_How has your summer been? Mine's been great, my mum and dad have been asking all about you, Harry and Ron since the day I arrived. I know, you'd think that after three years they'd find something else to talk about, but it's rather difficult to explain my classes to them. But that's beside the point. _

_Joley, Mr. Weasley got tickets to the Quidditch World Cup! I've been invited, as has Harry, to go with them. I'm sure you'll receive your invitation soon, if you haven't already. I know that I'm usually not this enthusiastic about Quidditch, but this could be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Please write back as soon as possible, and if you can go, let the boys know as well. _

_Much love,_

_Hermione_

Joley was very excited to hear about the chance to go to the World Cup, but just as that excitement came, it disappeared. She hadn't received any invitation to go with the Weasley's and if Hermione and Harry already had theirs, then she probably wouldn't be going.

"What's wrong, dear?"

"Hermione, Harry and the Weasley's are going to the Quidditch World Cup." She muttered, now in a foul mood. She picked up a strip of bacon and bit into it angrily.

"Didn't I tell you? You and Aiden are going as well. Well, Arthur will be picking you up tomorrow right before you lot go to get Harry. Aiden will meet you there, as he can apparate."

"No, you didn't tell me! Why didn't I get invited by Ron, though?"

"I was given two tickets at work and since Arthur and I work together, he too received tickets for his family. I'm not one for Quidditch and your father is much too busy, so I asked Arthur if he would take you and if Aiden could join you once he arrived."

Joley jumped up from her seat and gave her mother a hug. "Thank you soo much! I've got to go pack my things…where'd you say my Hogwarts letter was?"

"On the counter, dear. Make sure you have all your school things packed." Nodding her head to show that she'd heard, Joley left her nearly uneaten breakfast at the table as she ran back up to her room. She had a long day of packing ahead of her, as all of her things were scattered about her room in a very disorderly fashion.

"If Hermione could see this, she'd lecture me…" Joley said with a grin, knowing that she usually wasn't a slob. The mess that was currently her room was a rare thing, and it did bother her that she'd let it get this bad.

"Wow, Joley." Aiden said from behind her. "I haven't seen your room this way since before we moved."

"I'm not sure if you were complimenting me on how tidy my room usually is or insulting me."

"A bit of both, actually." Her older brother said with a grin, his blue eyes twinkling. "So, are you excited about the World Cup?" Aiden was on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, so of course he was.

"Yes, but I'm more excited to see my friends. I like watching Quidditch, but that's the extent of it. You got your coordination from dad and sadly, I'm lacking in that department, at least when it comes to Quidditch." Joley was an excellent flier, but she couldn't play Quidditch to save her life. There was something about having to catch a ball, fly to the goal posts and not get hit by bludgers that completely threw her off balance.

"I can help you pack, you know." Aiden said slyly. "I can use magic, now."

"You know mum wants us to do things the Muggle way. I'm saving myself the grief of one of her lectures." Joley said cheerfully as she folded her clothes and packed them in her trunk. "And if she catches you packing with magic, you won't be very happy."

"I hate it when my baby sister is right…" He walked over to her bed and sat down. "So have you heard from your friends lately?"

"Obviously, or I wouldn't be going to the Weasley's tomorrow. I got a letter from Hermione today. Mum told you that we were going to the World Cup, but she completely forgot to tell me."

"I reckon she thought we were both in the room. If I remember correctly, she was looking at our fireplace."

"She was probably trying to figure out how the electricity ran through it." Joley laughed as she came up with the thought that was more than likely correct about her mother.

"True. She does like these Muggle fixings. Anyway, if you don't want my help packing, I'm going to pack my own things. I'm staying with the Diggory's after the match."

"Mum said you were going to the Weasley's with me afterward." Joley muttered confused.

"I told Cedric about that and he asked his parents if I could stay there instead. I know you love the Weasley family, but they're your friends, not mine. I'd feel out of place. I'll be just a few miles away though."

"Yeah, I understand. I can't ask you to spend the rest of your summer with my friends, it wouldn't be right. Go on and get packed. I'm going on a walk when I'm done, maybe Harry will have escaped his evil relatives." Aiden chuckled and left his little sister to finish packing her trunk, which didn't take nearly as long as she thought it would. At some point during her packing, her mother had brought sandwiches up to her room, which she'd munched on periodically through her packing.

Once everything was neatly packed away and her room clean, Joley grabbed a light jacket and slipped it on over her black tee. It wasn't overly chilly out, but she'd rather be a little warmer than usual than leave her jacket and be cold.

"I'm going for a walk, mum." She said as she pulled her white sneakers on.

"Be careful. That awful boy Dudley hasn't come back yet, he's probably at the park tormenting some children."

"I'll be back in a bit." Joley mumbled as she stepped into the pleasant evening summer air. The wind was blowing ever so slightly, making her proud that she'd grabbed her jacket. She walked down the sidewalk to the park and saw that Dudley Dursley was indeed picking on some small children. "Git." She muttered, shaking her head as she turned around and headed back toward her house. She would be making a stop at Harry's though, not that his aunt or uncle would ever know. She climbed over the hedges and then looked around carefully. If Harry's aunt or uncle knew another magical person lived within the area they'd probably pack everything up and leave, taking her best friend along with them. She picked up a pebble and threw it at the window she knew was Harry's.

When he didn't look out his window the first time she threw a pebble at his window, Joley picked up another and threw it a little harder. This time, the dark haired boy did open his window and look around slightly confused.

"Down here." She whispered, knowing he'd hear her. They'd taken the time to talk like this many times. Why the boy never looked down after hearing something hit his window, Joley would never know.

"Joley? What are you doing? Dudley isn't home yet, he could see you." Harry whispered back, although he was pleased to see his friend. He was worried though, if Dudley saw her, it would be major trouble. The Dursley's knew he had friends at Hogwarts and although Dudley was dumber than a box of rocks, his aunt and uncle weren't.

"I came to make sure you were still alive, duh." She said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Don't worry about that moron…I just went by the park and saw him picking on little kids. Thankfully an adult walked by and probably put an end to it. Can I climb up, or is it too risky?"

Harry glanced around quickly, held up a finger telling her to wait and walked from his room. He stood at the top of the stairs and heard his aunt and uncle talking about the news downstairs and they probably wouldn't notice a fourteen year old climbing up the ivy that grew on the back of the house. When he came back to his room he looked back outside and smiled.

"Come on up, but be careful…and quite."

"Aren't I always?" Joley said, faking being insulted. Harry knew she was always quiet when she snuck around his house. It was gift, she guessed, being able to climb up ivy that grew on a house when she couldn't play Quidditch. She tugged on the ivy, finding the strongest piece that she'd hidden from the Dursley's. They trimmed the plant every now and then, and Joley didn't want to lose the one way to talk to her friend. Once she'd found it, it was rather easy to climb up the house and then into Harry's room.

"You're mad, you know that right?" Harry said, shaking his head.

"Not the worst thing to be…I mean I could be Malfoy. Imagine how awful my life would be then!" Joley said with a quiet laugh. Harry chuckled with her and then helped her quietly to the floor. She'd been standing on his desk from having climbed in the window and the desk creaked terribly.

"I suppose you have a point. So what brings you to my prison?" Harry asked, his tone filled with anger.

"Harry, I know they treat you terribly, but please, don't take it out on me. I just came over to tell you that Ron's coming tomorrow, you'll be free for the rest of the summer."

"How did you know that Ron's coming?" Harry asked, obviously surprised.

"Well they're coming to pick me up as well. Or at least Mr. Weasley is. Ron must not know…" Joley said, sitting on Harry's unmade bed. "Oh well. I can't help to see Hermione!"

"But Ron said his dad only got a few tickets." Harry said, confused.

"My mum got tickets for Aiden and me. Since dad isn't home very often and she doesn't like Quidditch much, she only asked for two. She gave my ticket to Mr. Weasley and Aiden has his ticket."

"That makes sense. So you'll be here tomorrow?"

"Yes. It's a good thing your aunt and uncle don't know that I live across the street. Of course, I'll have to be a lot more careful when I walk around so that they don't notice me."

"If they haven't noticed you yet, they won't. They're just like that." Joley nodded her head in agreement as she heard the front door downstairs open. "Dudley's back." Harry mumbled irritably.

"Which means I've got to go. He'll be up the stairs in a moment and if he hears us talking…well it wouldn't be good." Joley said feeling a bit upset. She knew that when she saw Dudley he'd be leaving soon, but she'd only had a few minutes to talk to Harry when she knew he needed to talk to her a bit more.

"Wait a moment before you go. I'm going to send Hedwig in a while with a letter for you. I have something to tell you, Joley."

"I'll be up. G'night, Harry." She said with a small smile as she hugged him and kissed his cheek like she always did to any of her guy friends.

"Night, Joley. I'll see you tomorrow." Harry watched as his friend slipped out of his window, climbed down the ivy and then silently left his aunt and uncle's property. She'd left just in time; he could hear Dudley in the hall. He looked to his snowy owl and sat at his desk, pulling a quill and some parchment out of the drawer. He knew that Joley would understand the dream he'd had the other night, or she'd be able to explain it. She too had strange dreams, but unlike her dreams, Harry's involved Lord Voldemort.

"Mum, I'm back!" Joley said a bit loudly as she shut the door behind her. She took her shoes off and placed them neatly by the shoes of her mother and brother and noticed a third pair. They could've only belonged to her father and with a grin on her face, she ran through the house until she was in the living room. "Dad!"

"Hey, Jo-Jo. I was wondering when you'd return." Her father said, flashing a smile at his daughter. "You didn't think I'd miss seeing you and Aiden one more time before term starts, did you?"

"Me? Why would I think such a thing?" Joley said, taking a seat on the arm of the chair her father occupied. Jacob Parker was an Auror and since the mass break out of Azkaban, he'd been working nearly non-stop. So, Joley couldn't be blamed for thinking that she wouldn't see her father before the start of term.

"Because it's what your mother would do. You are just like her."

"Really? I don't think I am. I think I'm more like you. You might've been in Ravenclaw, but I got trouble-making genes from you. Mum would never do half the things I've done."

"She did, just not to the extent you think. Hufflepuffs are deceiving, they look all sweet, and they are, but they're also just as daring as any Gryffindor." Joley laughed and gave her father a sideways hug.

"I missed you, dad." She said simply, unable to find any other words to explain how painful it'd been to go without seeing or even hearing from her father.

"I missed you too, Jo. And I missed Aiden and your mother. It's not fair to you all that I'm gone all the time."

"It's your job, Jacob." Her mother said from the doorway. "We all understand."

"I don't think the kids do, Lydia."

"Contrary to your belief, dad, I do understand. You're risking your life to track these people down, and that's why we worry. Not because you aren't home, but because we don't know if we'll see you again."

Her father looked surprised, not that it bothered her. No, Joley knew the last time he'd been home she'd acted like a spoiled brat. It must've been shocking to hear such mature words come from the daughter who'd been fuming when he was home last. He cleared his throat and looked at his wife, his eyes shimmering with tears.

"You've obviously heard your mother talking to Arthur. They're such good friends."

"No, as amusing as it is to listen to Mr. Weasley talk on the phone, it's just as annoying. He hasn't quite gotten a grip on the technique." Joley said with a smirk.

She sat with her father for a few more minutes before giving him a final hug before bed and getting off the chair. She walked over to her mother and gave her a hug too before walking up the stairs to get ready for bed. As she reached the top of the stairs, she saw Aiden about to close his door. She wondered if he even knew their father was home.

"Aiden, you do know that dad's home, right?" She asked right before he closed his door. All she saw was a quick nod of her brother's head before he closed the door without so much as a 'goodnight' to her. "I wonder what his deal is…" Shrugging it off as some male thing that she didn't want to know about, Joley opened the door to her room. Hedwig was sitting on her windowsill, meaning that Harry had already written her. She let the snowy owl drop the letter onto her desk before finding a small dish and filling it with water. She kept it just for when Hedwig or Errol delivered letters. She carefully opened the letter and sat at her desk to read it.

_Joley,_

_I know you're probably getting ready for bed but I can't go without telling someone about the dream I had the other morning. I know you have some weird dreams of your own and I thought you'd be the best person to tell and your advice won't be to go to Dumbledore or consult a book._

Joley grinned, knowing that was exactly what Hermione or Ron would say…and Harry was right, she did have some strange dreams, which made sense to her at least, she was a strange girl. She looked back down at the letter and continued reading.

_I've already written Sirius, as you might've guessed, but I haven't heard from him yet. But that's not the point of this letter. _

_The dream I had the other morning was one of the strangest I've had. I was in an old house, a very old house. An old man was walking up the stairs and once he came to a door that was slightly cracked open he stopped. He'd heard voices and decided to listen. If only he'd decided to leave…_

_Well the voices were talking about something coming to Hogwarts; it was a good thing, according to Voldemort, yes I've figured out that Voldemort was one of the people in this dream, as you probably have as well. He was sitting in a chair, talking to another man. Oh and Wormtail was there too. They were talking about how their plan was going well. It was a plan to get to me, to kill me. I woke up just after a huge snake came into the room and told Voldemort that the Muggle man was in the hall. The chair was turned and Voldemort killed the man._

_I don't know if it was just a dream or if it really happened, but my scar hurt so badly that I woke up. Any ideas or advice?_

_Harry_

Joley sat at her desk with her head placed thoughtfully in her hand. She didn't know what to think of Harry's letter. There were just too many things that it could've been. The one thing she knew was that she trusted what Harry was telling her, he did see something that was probably important. The muggle that died in his dream was probably really dead. She picked up her quill and a piece of parchment and began to write him back.

_Harry,_

_This dream of yours is not only frightening, but I'm not entirely sure it was a dream. Professor Dumbledore did say that when Voldemort gave you that scar he transferred some of his powers to you, would it be that much of a stretch to think that you could be seeing what he's seen? That's just an assumption, perhaps that would be something to ask him about. You wouldn't necessarily have to tell him about the dream and your scar; it could just be a curious question._

_But back to the main point, I think that the Muggle that died in this dream is really dead. That's the only thing that could've woken you up from your sleep. He's been angry plenty of times and the only thing that's done has given you a slight headache. _

_As for any advice I have for you, I think you should be cautious. I know you get tired of hearing it, but with a dream like the one you had, I think it'd be smart to keep Ron, Hermione and myself close, especially when we go to the World Cup. _

_Hope you can get some sleep tonight,_

_Joley_

Joley handed the letter to Hedwig and stroked her beak softly. "Make sure Harry gets it tonight. He'll forget about it otherwise." The owl hooted and flew back to Harry's room. Joley glanced at the clock and yawned. It was nearly midnight and she had to be up at a slightly decent hour in the morning. She changed into a pair of sweatpants and a new tank top before crawling underneath her blanket and falling asleep nearly as soon as her head hit the pillow.

The next morning she was woken up by her mother pounding on her door. Joley tried her best to ignore it and soon enough, the noise went away. However that wasn't the worst of her problem. Aiden had decided that if she wouldn't wake up on her own, he'd wake up his baby sister.

With a glass of icy water in hand, Aiden tip-toed into Joley's room and pulled her blanket's down so that she was mostly uncovered. He couldn't help but chuckle slightly at what he was about to do. Sure, there would be some retaliation, but he could handle it.

"Good morning, sunshine!" He screamed in her ear as he dumped the water on her. His chuckles turned into full blown laughter as she jumped and fell out of her bed.

"Aiden! I'm going to kill you!" She yelled as she realized that she'd gotten the worst wake up call ever.

"You've got to catch me first, Joley!" He laughed, running from her room and down the stairs.

"He doesn't realize that I'm friends with Fred and George Weasley…I don't need to catch him." She muttered angrily as she wrung her hair out. It dripped onto her white carpet, leaving a slightly darker spot on the floor. She slammed her door shut and pulled a towel from her closet. After she was dry, she changed into a pair of bleach stained jeans and a pink tee. Her hair was still wet, and she knew she'd be traveling by the Floo Network so she threw her hair up into a ponytail before finding a pair of socks.

As she left her room and walked down the stairs, she could hear her brother and parents laughing at what Aiden had done. She put on a smile, hoping that he'd think that she was giving up her revenge, as she entered the kitchen.

"Well, you dry quickly." He stated a smirk on his face.

"That was really mature, Aiden. Exactly what I'd expect from a sixth year." Her father chuckled, noticing how calm his daughter was acting.

"What happened to 'I'm going to kill you!'?" Aiden asked, tilting his head slightly to the side.

"Oh, it's just a figure of speech. I'm not stupid enough to try and outsmart you. And revenge is petty." She had placed a blueberry muffin on her plate as her mother handed her a glass of juice.

"She's ill. The Joley we all know and love would never give up the opportunity to get even. Are you upset with me?" Her brother questioned, at which she shook her head in response.

"I'm bored, that's all. We always do this and it never ends. We need a break from making each other angry." She took a bite out of her muffin and tried to contain her laughter. She had him fooled, she was being so convincing. She ate her muffin in silence, watching as her brother sat with a confused look on his face. Once her muffin was gone, she drank her juice and then took her cup to the sink and rinsed it out. "Breakfast was great, mum." She said with a grin. "What time is Mr. Weasley getting here?"

"Not until four thirty, dear. I thought I told you."

"So I got the wake up call from him," she paused and pointed to Aiden. "for nothing?"

"That's what happened, little sis. I'm just that good."

Joley snorted, knowing that the only way Aiden could prank her was when she was asleep. She looked at the clock on wall and saw that it was only eleven thirty. She had nothing to do for a while and it bugged her. She didn't want to go outside and risk one of the Dursley's seeing her. That was a risk she was not yet willing to take. Instead, she sat in her room and read a book she'd gotten from Hermione about Transfiguration, as that was her favorite subject. By the time four thirty came around, Joley had read half of her book and was packing it away in her trunk.

"Joley, Arthur is here!" Her father yelled.

"Be down in a minute." She replied, closing her trunk and taking a final look around her room to make sure that she had everything. Once she was completely sure that she was leaving nothing behind, she grabbed her trunk by the handle and dragged it down the stairs into the living room.

"Ah, Joley, it's good to see you!"

"Good to see you too, Mr. Weasley." As soon as the words left her mouth, Ron, Fred and George tumbled out of the fire place one by one. Instead of laughing at them like she wanted to, she offered Ron a hand. "You certainly know how to make an entrance."

"Shut it, Joley." Ron muttered, obviously embarrassed. She turned and helped Fred and George instead of teasing Ron.

"Right, well I hate to just appear and then run, but we have to pick up Harry in a few minutes. I'll just send your things to the Burrow." With a quick wave of his wand, Joley's belongings were gone, safely at the Burrow where Mrs. Weasley would no doubt take them to Ginny's room.

"Bye, Mum. Bye, Dad." Joley said, her voice thick with tears, especially when she hugged her father. "I'll see you at Christmas, right?"

"Of course, dear." Both her parents said their voices cheerful. "And we'll write to you as often as we can." Joley nodded and moved over to the fire place.

"Great, now we can get to Harry. Joley, you know the address, right?"

"Yes, but do you?" Joley asked, her brow raised in mock seriousness. Mr. Weasley laughed and rubbed at his head.

"Right. I'll go first; wait until I've told you it's clear to follow." He stepped into the fireplace where green flames jumped to lick his skin, but didn't burn. "Number 4, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey!" The flames rose and then Mr. Weasley was gone. After quite a few minutes had gone by, Fred decided they'd waited long enough. He too stated Harry's address and disappeared in the flames. George quickly followed and then Ron.

"See you." Joley said as she stepped into the fire place and said Harry's address clearly. However she didn't exactly end up where she thought.

"Ow, what's going on here?" She said as she was crammed against Ron.

"It's blocked off." The red head replied. "I was about to come back and tell you not to come here. "Harry said that this is an electric fire, don't you have one too?"

"Yes, but we knew you'd be coming by Floo powder. Why on earth would they block the fire place?"

"Beats me."

"All of you, be quiet…I'm trying to think of what to do…Yes…only way…Stand back, Harry." She hoped that Harry did stand back at Mr. Weasley's warning because moments later, whatever was blocking the fire place was blasted away and the Weasley's and herself fell out of the fire place. She landed on Ron who let out a grunt of pain, but she ignored it, finally looking at Harry's aunt and uncle. She knew she was the odd one out, having brown hair, rather than the bright red that Weasley's had. She stood up carefully, making sure she didn't step on anyone and moved to help the others up. Ron accepted her help, for the second time that day, and Fred and George did too. Mr. Weasley had long since gotten up, having completely missed out on being part of the dog pile.

Mr. Weasley was talking to Harry's aunt and uncle and quite frankly, Joley was bored. She could tell that the Dursley's were less than pleased to have so many 'abnormal' people in their home. She watched as Mr. Weasley looked at the fire place.

"They run of eckeltricity, do they? Ah yes, I can see the plugs. I collect plugs," he said to Harry's uncle. "And batteries. Got a large collection of batteries. My wife thinks I'm mad, but there you have it." From the looks of it, the Dursley's agreed. They talked about Dudley for a moment before Mr. Weasley lit a fire and dropped a pinch of Floo powder into fire. "Off you go then, Fred."

Fred walked toward the fire place and stumbled, spilling countless brightly colored candies onto the floor. He bent down quickly and picked them up before stepping into the emerald flames and saying his new destination. Harry's aunt gave a small squeak of fright as he disappeared.

"George, you and trunk next." George vanished the same way Fred had with Harry's trunk in tow. "Ron, you next." And in a blink of an eye, Ron was gone. "Joley, if you please."

"See you in a minute," she muttered to Harry, giving him a small smile. "It was nice to meet you all." She gave the Dursley's a small wave as she contained the laughter that was bubbling up. Once she stepped into the emerald flames she firmly said, "The Burrow!"


End file.
